Vanhage Reviews 

Usually enjoy having something to eat at VH, but not this time……. They have changed the dining area, you now get shown to a table, given menu, order then you have to PAY before you eat?? I ordered salmon and this charred cabbage and new potato bowl ? Salmon was cold thought it was going to be hot and the cabbage bowl was so burnt couldn’t eat, so very disappointed unless something changes with menu, won’t be eating there again - shame??

Vanhage garden centre is expensive but ok for plants and garden equipment which is fine as it's their core business, however DO NOT eat there!
The food is poor quality and very expensive. I had a tuna ciabatta with a thin spread of tuna not much thicker than a spread of butter at £10 and my my partner had a jacket potato which was hard and barely warm. They focus on profit with no interest in quality? very unfair and disappointing.

Poor customer service in cafe: no apology for the long wait to be served; advertised food not available at this location; when asked about ketchup, the assistant waved vaguely in the direction of a box which contained only mayonnaise.

In the food hall, quite a lot of items were not priced - I suppose the implication is, "if you have to ask the price, you can't afford it". Jam on the shelves was 2 months out-of-date and when I pointed this out, they didn't seem to care.

Generally, when I stood aside to let staff past, there was no thanks or acknowledgement.

Coffee is very good however we have always in the past (visited weekly) purchased a scone with our coffee priced ant £3.25. Unfortunately now the scones are half the size and totally over baked. As for cake choice, we absolutely refuse to buy a piece of cake priced at £4.50. Seriously!!! Come on, it is a small piece of cake, regular members like ourselves are going to look elsewhere. Our local cafe which is beautifully furnished with excellent coffee offer coffee and a large danish pastry for £4.50 so we, like I hope many other people, may decide to vote with their feet. Shame on you Blue Diamond for refurbishing the garden centre brilliantly but with no thought for pensioners and young families who want to enjoy your various cafes without it being an expensive experience. Please rethink so that we may continue to visit as we used to.

Visited VanHages in Ware always been happy with the centre and staff. This visit was appalling it was difficult to navigate through the store, almost impossible with either a buggy or walking aid.Extremely long queue for the cafe where I was treated like a child ( told to stand outside the cafe when she had told the other members of my family to wait inside ) Badly run cafe and tills.

Buy your coffee before you go, as the queue to get it there was about 50 people long! There's a cool little van out front selling fresh doughnuts, 5 stars for them!! But why can't they sell coffee too, if the cafe is sooo slow?

The shop displays are amazing and the restaurant is very nice in deed, however I used the ladies toilets and they are disgusting, there are 10 toilets and only two are available as the others are all out of order!! The one I used the actual toilet seat was swinging loose which is dangerous and finally I went to wash my hands where there was only a small amount of hand wash for everyone to use & not all the taps are working!!

Van Hage's has always been expensive, but yesterday's 2 x cups of coffee and 2 x tiny slices of bakewell tart from a less than impressive selection of cakes (compared to what there used to be) to tempt us confirmed this for £14.95!!!!!
There was more icing on top of the bakewell slice than the filling inside, which turned out to be a good thing as the filling was tasteless!
Thankfully the company of a good friend far exceeded the disappointing cake and expensive experience.

Our first visit, maybe the last. Took us an hour to get there only to get served, after waiting ages, with a bowl of cold soup. Took another 10 minutes to get it replaced…..not impressed 👎

If I have 0 option then wood love to give 0 to the van hage Channis branch, the staff call Emma was very unprofessional and not helpful at all, I don’t really bother to go there again and will suggest everyone in my friend group the same!! Also on a busy Sunday afternoon it seems there is no responsible person on the floor, who can take a decision or resolve customer issues and a bunch of interns are managing the shop floor!!

Van Hages have been bought by Blue Diamond, we went there at the weekend to buy a Gardena hose reel, they didn’t have it, I’m not sure why Blue Diamond have bought it, they’ve don’t a Bunnings, it’s now completely BD, all parts of VH have gone, won’t bother going back.

WHAT ON EARTH HAVE YOU DONE TO THE PLACE???
The centre has been blocked off in certain areas, leaving you to walk more than double the distance to pay and get out.
Considering my wife has mobility issues we will not be visiting here unless its a dire emergency. There seems to be a lot of people with 'Blue Diamond' logos on their tops. If this is a merge, management or a parent company you have SERIOUSLY fouled up!!! The many people who used to spend a leisurely stroll around your centre will now feel ushered and forced to walk long distances.
As for the till announcements, "Till 7 is now available" etc, I felt like I was in a post office, not a FORMER high-end garden centre. You have now become too complacent for my liking. Think we will stick to plants galore in future. The extra drive is worth it and the prices are fairer.

We live quite close to the peterborough store and use it regularly, WELL up until recently as apparently it has been taken over? Food prices now increased hugely (not a surprise in itself), BUT now only table service which is VERY slow (waited 20+ mins for 2 cups of coffee?!).
Also used to be dog friendly with a specific area set aside for our furry friends, visited recently (3rd March) and dog area closed and a very brusque/rude lady from the restaurant staff told us in no uncertain tones that we were not welcome with our (small) dog, fortunately I had not paid for our food and drinks!!!
We complained to a store manager as we were leaving and also highlighted the fact that there was no information on the way in that dogs were no longer welcome.
Wanted to make sure this was publicly highlighted.

Just visited the Peterborough store. Noticed car park was nowhere as busy as normal. Went in for breakfast to find it is now table service and a set menu. Hugely expensive! Restaurant was almost empty so looks like the new format is not being greeted well by the customers. Suggest the management look at their business model again as this is an interesting way of going out of business. Won't be going back!

Since changing hands late 2022, generally very poor and cafe expensive. Feels more like a works canteen than a nice place to eat. The conservatory on the lead up to the cafe is done very well but cold in the winter months. Such a shame as great potential and good parking.

Christmas Dinner cold and greasy the dinner looked and tasted as if it had been cooked the day before
one of the worst dinners I have had at a cost of £20 waste of money I wont be eating there again

Went to Amwell today with my 3 grandsons, the pony rides were a complete rip off, it took longer to fill in the form than the actual ride, literally 30 seconds for an extortionate £3.50. Never again, completely out priced themselves.

I bought a Pergola from Van Hage six months ago and had the misfortune of it blowing over last night due to some very strong winds. We were completely distraught at the sight in the morning. But complete respect to Van Hage for resolving it urgently. They dispatched a big team of men to 'rescue' it, disassemble it and reassemble it. I thought customer care of this quality had gone out of fashion. I'm so grateful to Frank Brown in customer services and Chris Luther for the 'heavy lifting'!

Mean spirited people at Van Hage don’t allow 10 week old puppies into store. Appreciate they may have a no dog policy but it’s very poorly signposted and to turn people away when they are there is just plain rotten. Carried in papoose too. Will def avoid them from now on.

Went to Van Hague today in a Chenies with two empty gas bottles for replacement . Took the bottles out of the car , went to the main entrance and they were closed … apparently for a stock take … A silly girl told me that I should have looked at the website !!! As if anyone checks the website before going shopping on a Monday afternoon . Worse still a disabled lady had the problems of being helped from her car only to be told the same . If you’re going to do a stock take in customers time show some respect and close your gates , look closed and leave a big sign on the road to stop wasting peoples time driving into your car park and walking to the entrance . I will never go back as have since found a far better and cheaper supplier in Chalfont St Giles .
Disgraceful !!!